SCOTTISH INDUSTRIAL HISTORY

Scotl21nd Business Archives Council of Scotland Scottish Charity Number SCO 02565

Volume20 The Business Archives Council of Scotland is grateful for the generous support given to this edition of Scottish Industrial History by United Distillers & Vintners SCOTTISH INDUSTRIAL HISTORY

Volume20

B·A·C Scotl21nel

Business Archives Council of Scotland Scorrish Choriry Number SCO 02565 Scottish Industrial History is published by the Business Archives Council of Scotland and covers all aspects of Scotland's industrial and commercial past on a local, regional and trans-national basis.

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The views expressed in the journal are not necessarily those of the Business Archives Council of Scotland or those of the Honorary Editor.

© 2000 Business Archives Council of Scotland and contributors.

Cover illustrations Front: Advertisement Punch 1925- Johnnie Walker whisky [UDV archive] Back: Still room, Dalwhinnie Distillery 1904 [UDV archive]

Printed by Universities Design & Print, University of Strathclyde 'Whisky Galore '

An Investigation of Our National Drink

This edition is dedicated to the late Joan Auld, Archivist of the University of Dundee Scottish Industrial History Volume20

CONTENTS

Page

Scotch on the Records 8 Dr. R.B. Weir

Distilling the Past 22 Christine Jones

Dewar's: The Whisky of His Forefathers 37 Jacqui Seargeant

A pioneer of the Spirit: Charles Cree Doig 47 C.S. McBain

Reviews 52

About the Business Archives Council of Scotland 55 Scotch On The Records

Dr. R.B. Weir University of York

My interest in the history of the Scotch whisky industry was first aroused when I was an undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh, for what were essentially negative reasons. In the early 1960s courses in economics and economic history incorporated a respectable quantity of Scottish material. For example, in economics we studied regional economic policy, the thorny issue of whether separate national income accounts could be produced for Scotland, and the structure and development of the modern Scottish economy. The economic history syllabus included a term's lectures on the development of the Scottish economy since the Union of 1707 and on most other courses tutors cross­ referenced topics to Scottish experience. Over four years it was possible to become relatively knowledgeable about Scottish agriculture, Scottish banking, Scottish brewing, Scottish investment houses, Scottish shipbuilding, Scottish railways, Scottish engineering - and industries which never quite succeeded in coming to full fruition in Scotland; motor vehicles and aircraft being the prime examples.

Amidst this coverage, there was one striking absence and that was the Scotch whisky industry. It was absent not just from the courses, but from most of the recommended texts. Indeed one had to go back to older texts such as W.H. Marwick's, Economic Development in Victorian Scotland (London 1936) to find references to the whisky industry. Several reasons have been suggested for this neglect of one of Scotland's staple industries. The first is that it was a legacy of the temperance movement: making money out of strong drink was an embarrassment and not a fit subject for legitimate scholarly enquiry. There may have been something in this. It was rumoured that one of Scotland's leading economic historians had a strong antipathy to drink, but one swallow does not make a summer, or indeed a sinner, and I never encountered other economic historians who shared the antipathy. It also made it difficult to account for the

8 inclusion of brewing. The second suggestion is that it reflected the contemporary preoccupation with the long-term causes of economic growth in which a limited range of core industries - coal, iron, railways - were seen as playing the leading role. In this intellectual construct consumer goods were the equivalent of the second row in the orchestra. This seemed ill conceived, not least when most studies of the industrial revolution emphasised the high proportion of income allocated to food and drink and the baneful social consequences of the heavy drinking that accompanied an industrialised, urban society. Could these features really be adequately considered without understanding the activities of drink manufacturers? Even a superficial view suggested that an increase in demand for drink would not have left the supplying industries unaltered. Moreover, the drink industries processed the products of agriculture so there were interesting questions about the relationships between distillers and farmers. Dissatisfaction with the existing bias towards heavy industry at the expense of consumer orientated industries was one reason for wishing to study the distilling industry. The third suggestion is that the blame for neglect of the whisky industry's history lay with the industry itself, the accusation being that it was secretive, suspicious of outsiders, and generally unwilling to open its records to historians. The major culprit here allegedly was the Distillers Company (DCL). In the 1960s it dominated the industry and was said to conceal its activities behind what one commentator described as 'a tartan curtain', a barrier to free enquiry as formidable as 'the iron curtain'. From an economist's perspective, however, this dominance was intriguing: how had the DCL acquired its pre-eminence and what were the consequences for the industry?

Quite which of these suggestions best explained the neglect of the Scotch whisky industry remains uncertain; the availability of records suggests the fault did not lie with the industry. What was clear was that other characteristics of the Scotch whisky trade made its history worth studying. The industry was heavily engaged in exporting- and in the 1960s exporting was regarded as a particularly virtuous activity - how and when had the export trade developed? Certain brands were household names in this country and famous throughout the world: Buchanan's,

9 Dewar's, Walker's, Haig's, and White Horse - to name but five of DCL's brand portfolio. By the 1960s they were being challenged at home and abroad by the upstarts: Bell's, Teacher's, Cutty Sark, J&B, Chivas Regal, Ballantine's, and Whyte & Mackay. What marketing skills lay behind these famous names and what did they tell us about the quality of entrepreneurship? Finally, DCL was not just a major producer of Scotch whisky and gin it was also - still - a major chemical producer, a trade in which the Scottish economy was generally regarded as being weak. How had it managed to diversify?

These then were some of the questions I had in mind when I first discussed the possibility of undertaking postgraduate research with the then head of Economic History at Edinburgh, Berrick Saul. His view was that the whisky industry was well worth tackling but only if access could be obtained to the records of the Distillers Company. DCL had dominated the industry for at least forty years, and a study that omitted DCL, would be a thin one indeed. The problem was Distiller's reputation for being secretive, insular, and arrogant. Fortunately, neither Berrick Saul nor my other supervisor, Chris Smout, took the reputation at face value. Instead, with the help and advice of a Jay member of the University Court who had business contacts at Distillers, they negotiated 'a gentlemen's agreement' with DCL's chairman and management committee. This gave access from 1877 until 1917, a terminal date which conformed with the fifty year rule then governing public records, but an insignificant date in DCL's history. An extension was later agreed to 1925, the year of 'The Big Amalgamation', when DCL acquired Buchanan-Dewar and Walker; the records of DCL's blending subsidiaries. Together with those of its non-potable subsidiaries, particularly the United Yeast Company and the Methylating Company were also made available. DCL's participation, and its contacts, were crucial in obtaining access to what were then described as 'the independents', including Arthur Bell & Sons and the North British Distillery Company, as well as the industry's two trade associations, the Malt Distillers' Association and the Scotch Whisky Association.; As it turned out, an unexpectedly large amount of material in public archives on the distilling industry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries meant that DCL figured less

10 prominently in my PhD thesis than had been anticipated. But what I had seen of DCL's records convinced me that its history merited separate treatment and that it ought to embrace the firm's diversification into the chemical industry.ii This required a later terminal date and in 1975 the management committee permitted access up to 1939. Access to post-1939 material came very much later- in 1998- after the publication of a history of the Distillers Company (1877-1939) and the acquisition by Guinness of the DCL.ii i

Such then was the way in which I became involved with the history of the Scotch whisky industry. I would like now to turn to the three types of records relating to the industry's history (fable 1):

Public records contain a formidable amount of material, much of which still remains to be thoroughly explored. The best listing of parliamentary material relating to the drink trade remains GB Wilson's, Alcohol and the Nation (London, 1940); it also contains an impressive array of statistical data.iv Anyone wishing to begin research on the history of the drink trades after c.1800 should start by consulting Wilson's book. Although the industry has been adept at uncovering early documentary evidence for distilling, for example, the reference in the Exchequer rolls for 1494 permitting Friar John Cor a malt allowance to distil aqua vitae, and utilising such evidence to publicise the product. It remains the case that substantial knowledge of the industry only dates from the eighteenth century, in particular from 1770 onwards.v The reason for this is taxation. What distillers unceasingly complained about - the intrusion of the Excise into their affairs- has been, ironically, of enormous benefit to historians. Had whisky never become an excisable product, information about its history would have been extremely scarce. Whisky became attractive for taxation because consumption was growing and a military state had pressing fiscal needs. These are not, however, necessary and sufficient conditions for a successful tax system. What is also required is an ability to measure accurately and consistently what might be called 'the unit of account'- alcohol. From 1781, when private distilling was prohibited, it was to take over forty years to solve this problem and the solution,

11 Table 1: Classification of Records

Type Examples

Public Parliamentary Papers, including:

Reports of Select Committees, Royal Commissions, Departmental Committees, Hansard

Customs & Excise: Scottish Board of Customs & Excise, HM: Customs & Excise.

Scottish Record Office: Sequestration Papers, Estate Papers

British Museum Newspaper Library: Trade Press e.g. the Wine Trade Review, Ridley's Wine & Spirit Trade Circular, the Breweries & Distilleries Reporter, the Dublin Whisky Trade Review

Private Board Minute Books, Management Committee Minute Books, Letter Books, Sales Books, Purchases Books, Blending Books

Personal Journals, Accounts, Contracts, Legal Documents, Shareholders' Records

Trade Association United Kingdom Distillers' Association (1878-1888)

Malt Distillers' Association of Scotland: the North of Scotland Malt Distillers' Association (1874-1925) and the Pot Still Malt Distillers' Association of Scotland ( 1925-1971)

The Central Malt Distillers' Association

The Scotch Whisky Association: The Whisky Association (1917-1942)

12 the 1823 excise system, in its fundamentals contained elements that remain recognisable in today's excise system. The widespread nature of the distilling industry within Scotland, its importance to the agricultural system, its role in the commercial relationships of Scotland and England, and the revenue gathering potential of its product in a period marked by high wartime expenditure ensured that alterations in excise duty and in its method of collection would have important consequences. Moreover, excise duty required annual parliamentary approval and this provided enormous scope for lobbying by special interest groups. Little wonder then that there is a prodigious output of parliamentary papers for this period. Of these the most important for the eighteenth century are the two reports, in 1798 and 1799, of the Select Committee on the Distillery in Scotland.vi These trace the history of spirit taxation from the Union of 1707, describe methods of production, raw materials, markets, illicit distilling, sales methods, the credit network and much else. The accompanying papers contain the invaluable 'excise lists' with the names of distillers, their location, and output. Of course the lists only record those distillers who were officially 'entered for production', that is subject to the excise, and exclude those - a majority - who continued to distil out-with the Jaw. Nevertheless, these records remain a vital source about individual firms and distilleries. Distillers were particularly precocious in forming trade alliances to defend their common interests, so collective behaviour is also well covered. What makes the 1798 and 1799 reports particularly useful is that they were followed by two further excise inquiries, the Wallace Commission, which produced the Fifth Report in 1823, and the Parnell Commission, responsible for the Seventh Report in 1834.vii The Fifth Report is particularly valuable on illicit distilling, whilst the Seventh Report contains the fullest list available of licensed distillers and their output. By linking together the information in these and other reports a comprehensive picture emerges of an industry undergoing enormous change. Supplementary information on individual distilleries and whisky consumption can be found in The Statistical Account of Scotland (1792-99), The New Statistical Account of Scotland (1832-34), and in sequestration papers held by the Scottish Record Office.viii

13 Few other industries are so well documented during this classic phase of industrialisation. However, once the reformed excise system had become established and excise duty had been harmonised throughout the United Kingdom, a process not completed until 1858, official interest in distilling waned. The annual reports of the Board of Customs & Excise and the Board of Inland Revenue contain routine statistical information and, occasionally, special reports were published on particularly controversial topics.;• The crucial development, which changed Scotch whisky from a purely local product to a national and then international drink, was blending. Its early history is best traced through the trade press and the records of individual blending firms. By the 1870s blending had become highly controversial, the first campaign against blended whisky being organised by Irish pot still distillers in 1872.' Scottish malt (or pot) still distillers

joined the campaign in the 1880s. xi Two reports, that of the Select Committee on British & Foreign Spirits (1890-91) and the Royal Commission on Whiskey (1908-09), investigated blending and contain much information about firms and marketing.';; With the anti-drink campaign during the First World War, the trade again found itself embroiled in controversy and the subject of an official enquiry

into state purchase or nationalisation. xi;; After 1918 official interest in the trade was largely confined to retail licensing, the tied trade, and relationships between distillers and brewers. What sometimes seems like an unending series of enquiries into these topics is perhaps of greater use to historians as an indicator of peculiar British attitudes to alcohol and shifting social changes than of empirical data on Scotch whisky.'iv

Perhaps the first point to make about privately held archives in the 1960s is that it was a very long time before I came across as specialised a creature as an archivist. In fact the only company archivist I met was at BP Chemicals (UK) Ltd., the subsidiary which contained DCL's chemical interests and which was sold to British Petroleum in 1967. DCL had no centralised policy on the maintenance of its archives. Beyond the need to store such records as company law required, custom and practice varied from one subsidiary to the next, though in most the Company Secretary was the official responsible for the archive. What had

14 survived therefore varied enormously. At DCL's head office in Torphichen Street, Edinburgh the key documents were the Board Minute Books and the Management Committee Minute Books. The latter committee evolved from the Works Committee of 1902 and by the early 1930s had become the key decision making body. Two fortuitous survivals were a pair of Letter Books and the minutes of the United Kingdom Distillers' Association (UKDA). Letter Book No. 1 covered the first few months of DCL's existence and Letter Book No 2 offered a fresh perspective on the 'Whisky Prosecutions', the Royal Commission on Whiskey of 1908-09, and 'the People's Budget' of 1909. The minutes of the UKDA made it possible to reconstruct the grain distillers' cartel of 1887-1888. It secured a monopoly of the grain spirit trade but ultimately overplayed its hand and collapsed. The biggest disappointment was the records of DCL's lawyers, Fraser, Stodart & Ballingall. By volume they exceeded the material at Torphichen Street; by value they contained very little, mainly consisting of agreements on 'wayleaves' for pipelines and railways. United Distillers & Vintners at Banbeath, Leven, now hold the documents available at Torphichen Street (see Table 2).

From Torphichen Street visits were arranged to DCL's potable and non-potable subsidiaries: John Haig at Markinch, Fife; John Dewar & Sons at Inveralmond, Perth; John Walker & Sons at St James's Square, London; Scottish Malt Distillers at Elgin; Scottish Grain Distillers in Edinburgh; The United Yeast Co. at Morden, Surrey; The Methylating Co. and BP Chemicals (UK) in London... Enquiries were also made amongst the many smaller blending subsidiaries in the DCL Group. Far the best collection was held by John Dewar & Sons and related to the merger movement, which characterised the industry between 1900 and 1925. Although Dewar's had a good reputation within the DCL Group for its record keeping and, perhaps because of continuing family involvement in management, recorded an annual history, the survival of what are known as the Cameron papers seems to have been fortuitous.'•i Continuing family participation in management certainly influenced record-keeping practices: in the 1960s there were still several

15 Table 2: The Distillers Company Limited

Type of Record Dates

Board Minute Books 1877-1939

Canadian Report: Report of Deputation to Canada lONov. 1926

Contracts & Agreements 1877-1939

Executive Committee 1925-6

Finance & Executive and Management 1931- Committee

Fraser, Stodart & Ballingall WS 1877-1939

Letter Books 8 Feb.-20 July 1877, 8 Mar. 1890-15 Sept. 1911

Management Committee 1931-39

Technical & Research Committee 1925-36

United Kingdom Distillers' Association 1878-1888

Works Committee 1902-14

Works & Management Committee 1914-25

16 family owned malt distilleries and, in contrast to large public companies, the chief 'archivist' and keeper of the collective memory tended to be chairman. To interview them was to experience a remembrance of the past that was both vivid and intimate. Another form of ownership, which yielded an excellent set of records, was the unique 'co-operative'. The North British Distillery Co. Ltd. formed in 1885, in opposition to DCL's 'monopoly' of grain whisky distilling, it had a full record of the circumstances surrounding its formation and detailed production, finance, and sales records. Because such documents had seldom survived for DCL's grain whisky distilleries, North British records were invaluable in establishing the changing economics of grain whisky production.

With grain distilleries always being far fewer in number than malt distilleries, and with most ending up in the ownership of DCL, it was reasonably safe to assume that by covering both DCL and North British one would be on solid ground in generalising about the historical development of this side of the whisky industry. Neither blending nor malt whisky distilling were quite so amenable to generalisation. On the basis of the histories of 'The Big Five' blenders - Buchanan's, Dewar's, Walker's, Haig's and White Horse (Mackie's) - it was possible to reconstruct a dynamic picture of the marketing of proprietary blends in which advertising, promotional expenditure, and salesmanship were pre-eminent. It was, therefore, a shock to find in the records of Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd that its founder had set his face against advertising and, by allowing 'the qualities of my goods to speak for themselves', demonstrated that there were other routes to marketing success.'vii Generalising about malt distilling with its multitude of small distilleries was even more problematic. In 1910, for example, DCL and North British accounted for 88% of Scottish grain whisky production. In the Highland malt whisky business what were probably the two largest companies - Dailuaine-Talisker Distillery Ltd. and the Highland Distilleries Co. Ltd. accounted for only 12% of malt whisky output. Here the third type of record proved particularly useful.

17 Figure 1: From appendix Distillery Report 1799

18 The essence of trade associations is that they represent the common interests of their members. Although these may at times be very specific and narrower in scope than the day-to-day management problems of the individual firms that constitute the membership, the records of trade associations offer a way of generalising about the industry as a whole. Two associations, the Malt Distillers' Association of Scotland and the Scotch Whisky Association, sustain a tradition of collective representation stretching back to the late eighteenth century when distillers first joined together to seek favourable treatment from the Excise. The records of the Malt Distillers' Association go back to 1874 when distillers in the Elgin excise collection formed the North of Scotland Malt Distillers' Association. Although the Association's membership and constitution changed over time, most issues which confronted malt distillers are logged in its minute books and associated records. The Scotch Whisky Association was formed in 1942 from the Whisky Association, a body which had represented Scotch, hish, and English distillers as well as blenders. The Whisky Association emerged from the Wine and Spirit Brands Association; a body set up in 1912 to defend the interests of proprietary brands in export markets. Although much of the Whisky Association's time between the wars was devoted to regulating 'the tenns of trade' between distillers, blenders, wholesalers, and retailers in the home market it also defended the whisky trade in overseas markets, both against anti-drink campaigns and tariff protection. It provided a service which few individuals firms, even the largest, could afford to do on their own. Its records are essential for an understanding of the survival of the export trade in the 1930s and the subsequent success of Scotch whisky exports after 1945.

This brief survey of public, private, and trade association records suggests some tentative conclusions about record-keeping practices in the late 1960s and the Scotch whisky industries attitude to history. First, the reputation for insularity and secrecy proved incorrect. I found members of the trade unfailingly helpful, even those - a minority - who doubted the value of history. Here the historian needs to have a due regard for the concept of opportunity cost: searching for, and

19 Figure 2: From appendix of Distillery Repon 1799

20 successfully retrieving, historical information is not a costless activity. In an industry, which employed few archivists, requests for historical information inevitably took a member of staff away from other duties. The moral here is the more accurately specified the request, the easier it is to meet. Secondly, the concept of random sampling of historical records is meaningless: what has survived detennines the shape a history takes, and documentary survival has been a largely fortuitous process. Thirdly, in the late 1960s, the conditions under which private records were stored were infinitely varied: from strong rooms in a company's registry to mouse eaten cardboard boxes in dank warehouses. In the latter, it was often only the visit by a historian, which made the owner realise the value of the records and resulted in them being properly stored. Fourthly, however much 'heritage' has become a debased term, it would be difficult to argue that the Scotch whisky industry does not display a greater awareness of its heritage today than it did in the late 1960s. There are important commercial reasons for this: in a global market regulated by Advertising Standard Authorities it may be necessary to prove that Johnnie Walker was 'born 1820 and still going strong', or that a brand was first registered in a certain year; historical documents do have a commercial value. Perhaps more importantly, there are consumers, particularly in export markets, who are keenly interested in the product's history. Finally, to return to where this paper, and my enquiry started - the academic neglect of Scotch whisky - it would not be difficult to show that much of the research on the history of the industry has been incorporated into secondary texts and teaching material. There is thus less excuse for new generations of undergraduates being unaware of the role of one of Scotland's staple products in the country's wider economic development.

Access to the Malt Distillers' Association's records resulted in a history published at the Association's centenary in 1974; see R.B.Weir, The History of the Malt Distiller' Association ofScotland 1874-1974 (Elgin, 1974). ;; R.B.Weir, 'The Distilling Industry in Scotland in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries', Ph.D. thesis, Edinburgh 1974.

21 iii R.B.Weir, The History of the Distillers Company I877-I939 (Oxford, 1995). The author is currently writing a second volume covering the period 1939 to 1986. iv The listing of parliamentary papers is in Appendix A, pp.313-4; the statistical data are in Appendices B to F, pp.315-448. v For references to distilling pre-1700, see H.C.Craig, The Scotch Whisky Industry Record (Dumbarton, 1994), pp.7-27 . .,Repons from the Select Committee on the Distillery in different pans of Scotland and 011 the best mode of levying and collecting the Duties upon the Dis!illation of Corn Spirits in Scotland (PP, first series, xi) .,,171e Fifth Repon of the Commissioners appointed by the Acts of I". And 2nd. Geo IV, c 90, and 3'd. Geo IV, c 37; for inquiring into the Collection and Management of the Public Revenue arising in Ireland, and into cenain Depanments of the Public Revenue arising in Great Britain (PP, 1823, vii). The Seventh Repon of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the Excise Establishment and into the Management and Collection of Excise Revenue throughout the Un~~.ed Kingdom. British Spirits, pans I and l/ (PP, 1834, xxv). VIIISeries RH15 contains material relating to distillers, maltsters, and spirit dealers. ixAs, for example, in 1847 on the use of sugar and molasses as raw materials (PP, Accounts and Papers, lix) and in 1865 on the rate of spirit duty (PP, Accounts and Papers, xxxi). X 'The Consumption of Irish Whisky in England'' Wine Trade Review, xn, November 1872, p.304. " Their role is discussed in R.B.Weir, The History of the Malt Distillers' Asspciation of Scotland (Elgin, 1974), pp.3-12 and 20-32. XII Repon from the Select Committee on British and Foreign Spirits (PP, 1890- 1, xi); Royal Commission on Whiskey and other Potable Spirits, Minutes of Evidence (PP, 1908, i), Interim Repon of the Royal Commission on Whiskey (PP, 1908, Cd. 4180), Final Repon of the Royal Commission on Whiskey (PP, 1909, xli~·'· Cd. 4796) lUll State Purchase ofthe Liquor Trade: Repons ofthe English, Scotch and Irish Committees (PP, 1918, xi) x•v See, for example, the Repon of the Royal Commission on Licensing (England and Wales) (PP, 1929-30, Cmd. 3988) and Monopolies Commission, Beer: A Repon on the Supply of Beer, April I969, (1968-9), XL, HC 216. The best discussion of these issues is in T.R.Gourvish & R.G.Wilson , The British Brewing Industry I830-I980 (Cambridge, 1994). xv A description of the material held by these subsidiaries appears in the bibliography to The History ofthe Distillers Company 1877-1939, pp.391-3. xVJ A.J.Cameron was the secretary ofDewar's from 1904 to 1911, and a director from 1911 until his death in August, 1928. He died suddenly and his papers were put in a tea-chest to await sorting. This was never done and the papers escaped destruction. xvii Arthur Bell & Sons Ltd., Letter Book at 9 December 1879.

22 Distilling The Past

Christine Jones United Distillers and Vintners Archive

Through this article I hope to give an insight into the UDV [United Distillers and Vintners] Archive and its role within the Company. I will illustrate this through examples of activities and projects in which the Archive has been involved. To conclude I will demonstrate how the role of the Archive within UDV today complements how the spirits industry, in particular, the Scotch whisky industry, has always used history and heritage to market and promote its products.

WhoareUDV?

UDV is the spirits and wine business of Diageo. One of the world's leading consumer goods companies, Diageo was formed in December 1997 following the merger of GrandMet and Guinness. United Distillers, part of Guinness, and International Distillers and Vintners, part of Grand.Met, combined to become United Distillers and Vintners. In addition to UDV, Diageo also owns Guinness, Pillsbury, and Burger King.

Although UDV is a new company it has inherited some of the world's most famous spirits brands and companies. These include Johnnie Walker and J&B - currently the world's number one and number two Scotch whisky brands, Bell's, the UK's best selling brand, and the Classic Malts range of definitive single malts from the six Scotch whisky producing areas. In addition to Scotch whisky, UDV's brands include Smimoff, the world's number one vodka, Gordon's, the world's number one gin, and Baileys, the world's number one liqueur.

The vision of UDV for Scotch whisky, in particular, is based on promoting Scotland, not just as the home of Scotch whisky, but also as the source of heritage and knowledge increasingly sought by customers and consumers world wide. Research shows that consumers have a high regard for the authenticity of Scotch whisky. They want to come and see where it is made, and to meet the people

23 involved. They want to know more about the product, to understand its regional variance, its wide range of flavours and its rich heritage.

The Origins of the UDV Archive

In 1990 United Distillers became the first company in the spirits industry to establish its own archive, when it began to collect together the historical records of the brand companies for permanent preservation. These companies included John Walker & Sons, originally established as a grocery business in Kilmamock in 1820. Arthur Bell & Sons, whose origins lie with Thomas Sandeman, who opened a small spirit shop in Perth in 1825, and employed Arthur Bell in 1845. James Buchanan & Co, established in 1884. John Haig, whose family has a connection with Scotch whisky that can be traced back to 1627 when Robert Haig, a farmer near Stirling, is recorded as making whisky for his estate consumption. White Horse Distillers Ltd, built up by Peter Jeffrey Mackie, who joined the Scotch whisky house of Mackie & Co in 1878 and introduced the White Horse blend.

In addition to the archives of the brand companies, records of the distilleries were collected. These distilleries include Cardhu, where John Cumming rented a farm in 1811 and began distilling Scotch whisky; John Walker & Sons eventually bought his distillery in 1893. Blair Athol, first documented in 1798 when John Stewart and Robert Robertson founded a distillery, which was acquired by Arthur Bell & Sons in 1933. Dalwhinnie, built on a slope of the Grampian Mountains, over 1,000 feet above sea level, in 1897. Cameronbridge, founded on the river Leven in Fifeshire in 1824 by John Haig. Glenkinchie first licensed to John and George Rate in 1837, now the leading Lowland malt distillery. Lagavulin, where there were 10 "bothies" by the 1740s, each with it's own illicit still. Ownership of Lagavulin as a single distillery, passed to Mackie & Co in the 1870s, who later became White Horse Distillers Ltd.

The Archive continues to collect historical material relating to these and other brand companies and distilleries as evidence of the company's activities and

24 achievements. To complement material from the past, present day material is collected to form the archives of the future.

Content of the UDV Archive

The Archive collection is organised by brand, company or distillery. It includes a wide range of minute books, letter books, sales records, awards, plans, and production records; advertising guard books, press and magazine advertisements, proofs and designs, posters; labels, and proprietary and non-proprietary label books. Also bottles dating from the 1880's which show the development of brands since their launch; artefacts and point-of-sale items, ranging from decanters, ceramics, water jugs to items of machinery and tools. There are also photographs of buildings, people, production, transportation, videos of advertising, sponsorship and promotions, and company histories and books on the spirits industry.

The Role of the UDV Archive

Within UDV, the Archive is primarily a tool and source of inspiration for marketing. It is a unique asset that is used to develop and differentiate both well­ established brands and new products and to authenticate claims to brand quality. In particular, the main uses of the UDV Archive are to authenticate brand origins, to tell the brand story and to support brand messages. Also to be a source of inspiration for new product development and new product design; to protect brand trademarks and identities; to promote the rich heritage of the company and brands. To support in-house training and education - talks, guided tours and induction visits for company guests, new staff as well as supporting articles and publications. The archives are a key to unlocking the company's corporate memory and provide an insight into past actions. They encourage awareness and pride in the achievements of the company and its brands.

The UDV Archive also has an external role to play, in promoting the rich heritage of the company and it's brands to customers and consumers. This is achieved

25 Figure 1: Arthur Bell. His firm belief in the quality and potential of his blends spurred him into becoming the first whisky merchant to employ an agent in London. Initially he refused to put his name on the blend, believing that quality was the only thing that should matter to his customers.

26 through visitor centres, where the heritage of the brands can come alive through the use of original or reproductions of archive material, and, by answering enquiries from consumers, journalists, genealogists, collectors and enthusiasts, students and academic researchers.

Case studies

In this section of the article I will demonstrate the role of the Archive within UDV with some examples of activities and recent projects. The Archive is often used to authenticate brand origins, tell the brand story and support brand messages. I have chosen two examples to illustrate this, the origins of Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky, and, the evolution of Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky advertising. As well as providing the narrative, the Archive can offer original documents and artefacts as support material and evidence of authenticity. Including portraits of the Walker men, who were pioneers in Scotch whisky trade; photographs of key locations; bottles; labels; advertisements; point-of-sale material; stock books; letter books; minute books; medals, etc.

The origins of Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky

The origins of Johnnie Walker lie in the gentle countryside of Ayrshire, at Todriggs Farm. Here Alexander Walker and his wife Elizabeth were tenants on a modest but prospering dairy farm. John Walker, their son, was born in 1805, and when Alexander died suddenly in 1819, his trustees invested in a grocery business in Kilmarnock for John to manage. John, with his business well established, was poised to take advantage of developments in the distilling of whisky. His training in grocery trades, and particularly in handling teas, had taught him the basic skill of blending. So John set about blending whiskies, producing a distinctive drink of high quality, to ensure that customers would come back to it again, asking for Walker whisky by name.

John's son, Alexander, born in 1837, trained in the whisky business in Glasgow and joined his father in the family business only shortly before John's death in

27 1857. By the time of his death in 1889, Alexander had transformed this small but prosperous grocery firm into an international whisky business. His principal vehicle was Walker's Old Highland Whisky, which was copyrighted in 1867. The label for this brand was the slanted black and gold label. Walker's Old Highland Whisky became one of the favourite drinks of Scots in the UK and around the world, particularly in Australia. Alexander's approach to the whisky business was simple; he was determined 'to make our whisky of such a quality that nothing in the market shall come before it'. This commitment to the production of only the finest whiskies was vindicated not only by increasing sales, but also by the string of medals won by the brand in competitions throughout the world.

When Alexander died in 1889, his two sons, George and Alexander, aged 25 and 20, both took over the business. Within 30 years the brothers had transformed the business, once focused on a handful of key colonial markets, into a truly world wide enterprise. George and Alexander worked closely and effectively as a partnership. George concentrated on marketing and distribution, whilst Alexander concentrated on developing the skills of the master blender. The brothers wanted to change what they had inherited, and their first major step was the acquisition of Cardhu distillery in 1894. In 1906 they began the process of extending the range of blended whiskies they sold, introducing what were to become White, Red and Black Label.

The brothers decided that nothing could match the achievement of their father, so the original Old Highland Whisky became Extra Special Old Highland Whisky, and in 1909, Johnnie Walker Black Label. However, they wanted to create something new that would appeal to a new generation of whisky drinkers. So, Alexander created Special Old Highland Whisky, which became Johnnie Walker Red Label.

The rest as they say is history ...

28 The Evolution of Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky Advertising

When George and Alexander Walker launched Black and Red Label in 1909, they wanted to inject a new and unique personality into the Walker brands. Tom Browne, a noted cartoonist and humorist was asked to lunch, with Lord Stevenson one of Walker's directors, and it was then that Browne drew on the back of a menu card, the now world famous Striding Man figure. Browne proceeded to produce a series of memorable Walker adverts which defined the basic personality and features of the figure who has acted as a world-wide ambassador for Walker whiskies ever since. The first signed by Browne appeared in The Sphere on 27 November 1909. The Striding Man device and slogan 'Born 1820 - still going strong' were trademarked in 1910. When Browne died in 1910 Sir Bemard Partridge, principal cartoonist for Punch magazine, replaced him. His Striding Man was as rakish as Browne's, and was very often shown in the company of women.

At the outbreak of war, Leo Cheney, another outstanding comic cartoonist, replaced Partridge. Cheney drew the figure for about 10 years, gradually modulating the figure into a rounder more sociable character. He took the Striding Man through the First World War in a series of highly jingoistic advertisements, in which the figure was portrayed in dynamic contexts, walking, driving and sailing. Under Cheney the concept of the advertising series was fully developed when the Striding Man appeared in a number of thematically linked scenarios. These included the Travel Series, the Old Craft Series, the Literary Spirit Series, and the Historic Spirit Series. The context was always witty, sometimes contemporary, and the Striding Man was almost always dynamic, rarely a passive observer of events.

Between 1925 and 1928 the Striding Man was radically re-drawn in a short series of modem, some colour, adverts by D. Zinkeisen. These were contemporary in design and subject. They were followed by a short series of 'Quiz' adverts, possibly drawn by Clive Uptton, which showed only an invisible Striding Man.

29 Striding statuettes were featured in one of the brand's first photographic adverts published in 1932 which was followed by a series in which the Striding Man featured only as a logo. Between 1936 and 1938 the Striding Man was restored to centre stage in a series of adverts in which he delivered detailed infonnation on the blending process.

From 1939 to 1950 Clive Uptton was the principal artist. His first campaign 'Gentlemen! your Johnnie Walker' reduced the Striding Man to a logo, a position which he retained throughout the Second World War and Uptton's 'Good work. .. Good whisky' campaign. He only made one appearance, in the drawing office of the Greater London Council in an advert that celebrated the start of post­ war reconstruction. Uptton's next campaign 'Time Marches On' put the Striding Man back at centre stage as a bridge between the past and present, shown in the familiar walking posture.

With the departure of Uptton, and the gradual dominance of the photographic advert, the Striding Man became the ever present but silent endorsement of Johnnie Walker credentials on labels, cases, adverts, promotional literature and points of sale. In 1996 the first significant changes in 30 years were made to the Striding Man figure, and in 2000 he has restored to centre stage in a new advertising campaign 'Keep Walking'. The Striding Man still represents the sense of progress that led to his creation nearly lOO years ago, and remains the guardian of the brand, and a guarantee of its quality and integrity.

The Archive is also used as inspiration for new product development and new product design. I have chosen three examples to illustrate how the Archive is involved in such projects. Johnnie Walker Gold Label is a new product concept; the Rare Malts as a new product design concept, and Johnnie Walker Black Label to illustrate how the Archive is involved in the evolution of product design.

Johnnie Walker Gold Label

At the beginning of the 1920s, Alexander Walker set himself a new challenge to

30 create a truly outstanding whisky blend, to celebrate the lOOth anniversary of his grandfather's business. Unfortunately, supplies of mature whisky stocks were very low as a result of the First World War and Alexander had to be content with his efforts being a few notes in his blending book. Shortly before he died in 1950 he passed his notebooks onto the company's then Master Blender, in the hope that his centenary blend would one day be realised. Once again his efforts were somewhat thwarted, this time because of short supplies of whisky stocks due to the Second World War. However, a blend was created, although short supply meant it was bottled only for close friends and directors of the company. The product was eventually launched into the world in 1995 to celebrate 175 years of Johnnie Walker's great blending tradition and was based on the original notebook, which had been preserved in the Archive. The whiskies chosen for Johnnie Walker Gold lAbel are all at least 18 years old; they are extremely rare and have been very carefully selected. At the heart of the blend is the precious malt, Clynelish. Situated in the far north of the Highlands, Clynelish is where in the late 1860s prospectors panned for gold, but now nature is allowed to take its course, washing traces of gold into the Burn to enhance the water that makes Clynelish special. Hence the name of the brand, Johnnie Walker Gold Label.

Rare Malts

Beginning in 1995, each Rare Malt is released as a strictly limited edition of individually numbered bottles. The Rare Malt comes from the private stocks of the original distillers. In many cases Rare Malt represents the last of its generation. The bottle design includes a picture of the distillery taken from photographs and drawings in the UDV Archive to emphasise the authenticity and rarity of the product.

Johnnie Walker Black lAbel

When Johnnie Walker Black lAbel was re-launched in 1998 information regarding the main label developments was requested for inclusion in the manual for the new pack. Although the design may seem to have changed little since its

31 launch in 1909, there have been several significant developments. Initially, the body label was the original Walker Old Highland Whisky label that dates back to 1867, with the addition of 'Extra Special'. Johnnie Walker was added to the neck label c.l920, the Royal Warrant was added to the foot label c.1933. "Old Scotch Whisky" replaced "Old Highland Whisky" in 1947. The Kilmamock coat of arms was removed from body label c.1957, the Royal Warrant was moved to the neck label c. l979, and 'Black Label' was moved to the body label c.1988. To show this evolution a series of historical Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles were loaned from the UDV Archive for a photo-shot and display to mark the launch of the new pack.

Johnnie Walker Striding Man Trademark Protection in India

Another vital role of the Archive is to protect brand trademarks and identities. In 1998 evidence to prove that the Striding Man device was famous and established both in India and world wide prior to 1987 was requested from the UDV Archive. The evidence was required for a trademark opposition case in India where somebody was trying to register as a trademark for spirits a similar figure and claiming that themselves first used the mark in 1987. Photographs of Johnnie Walker promotional activities, advertisements for Johnnie Walker in India and sales records for India proved that the Striding Man device had been used to promote Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky in India as early as the 1920s/1930s.

The Archive is also used to promote the rich heritage, through in-house training and education, articles and publications.

Centenary Brochure for Dalwhinnie Distillery

Photographs from the UDV Archive were requested to illustrate the Centenary Brochure for Dalwhinnie Distillery 1898-1998. As well as a historical view of the distillery building set in the Grampian Mountains, the brochure was able to take advantage of a unique series of interior photographs of the distillery dating from 1904. These offer atmospheric images and informative evidence of the maltings,

32 Only from Scotland can true Scotch Whisky come

BORN 1810-STILL GOING STRONG Johnnie Walker is real Scotch Whisky at its very best

Figure 2: Johnnie Walker newspaper advertisement India 1949

33 washbacks, and the still room and spirit safe at the distillery at that date. Dalwhinnie still retains the old ways illustrated in these photographs. Traditional wood is still used for its washbacks, and there are just two copper stills as there have always been. The Archive was also able to provide a historical staff photograph, which was compared to a current staff photograph to great effect in the brochure.

Conclusion

The marketing of Scotch whisky has always been intimately associated with images from, or associations with, the past. In a complex world market where established brand character is the key to consumer recognition and assured sales, history is a key factor in creating and supporting brand propositions and identities. It is the past, which can most easily differentiate similar products and authenticate claims to brand quality.

There are a number of recurring historical themes. The longevity of the brand or of it's parent company; dates or events linked to the past of the brand or of it's parent company; historical associations of the areas which produce constituent whiskies of a blend, or a single malt whisky; the brand name itself.

Johnnie Walker's slogan 'Born 1820, still going strong' has been coined since the turn of the century and is a good example of how the longevity of the brand, or of it's parent company, can be used to promote the product as well established. The 'Established 1742' date that has appeared on the label of White Horse whisky since the early 1890s illustrates how dates or events linked to the past of the brand or of it's parent company can be used to good effect. The date refers not to the foundation of White Horse Distillers or their forbears, but to the foundation date of the White Horse Inn, in Edinburgh's Cannongate. This happened to adjoin property owned by the Mackie family, founders of White Horse brand in 1890. The visit of Queen Victoria to Royal Lochnagar distillery in 1848 shows how the historical associations of the areas which produce constituent whiskies of a blend, or a single malt whisky, can be used as well. In 1845 John Begg founded the

34 distillery that stands there to this day. It is clear that John Begg is one of the figures in the history of Scotch whisky that has the extra flair and insight, the extra touch of imagination and craft, that produces a distinctively great malt whisky. Within 3 years of founding his distillery he felt confident enough of his fine product to put it to the most exacting test. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had bought Balmoral Castle just 'lz mile from the distillery as a Scottish retreat. John Begg wrote to the young Queen and her family inviting them to the distillery to try his whisky. Accordingly, on September 12th 1848, the Royal party arrived. As a result of this visit, the distillery was granted the privilege of calling itself 'Royal' Lochnagar, the very first to be accorded this honour by Her Majesty.

The brand name itself can be exploited. For example James and Samuel Greenlees, pioneers of blended Scotch whisky in the London markets created the brand Old Parr in 1909/1871, named after the legendary Thomas Parr, who reputedly lived to 152 years old. The brand name allowed the brothers to use the claim 'Aged 152 years' on the label of what was probably no more than a 12-year­ old whisky. Thomas Parr was born in 1483 in Winnington, a small village in Shropshire. The son of a farmer, Thomas entered the household of nearby Rowton Castle, where he stayed in service until 1518 when, upon his fathers death, he returned to Winnington to cultivate his inherited land. The next 50 years passed peacefully. In 1563, aged 80, Thomas married for the first time. Jane, his wife died in 1595 and 10 years later, at the age of 122, Thomas married for a second time. Thirty more years passed until 1635 when Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Arundel and Earl Marshal of England, heard of the aged Thomas Parr, now 152 while visiting his estates in Shrewsbury. Howard arranged for Parr to be transported to London to present him to the court. Old Parr's intended visit caused widespread popular interest and throughout their journey, crowds continually besieged Thomas. In London, Thomas quickly became a celebrity. He was presented to King Charles I and immortalised on canvas by Rubens and Van Dyck. Thomas had always lived an active and well ordered life and the contrast of high living and rich food took their toll and Thomas died on 14 November 1635, aged 152 years and 9 months. The high esteem in which

35 Thomas was held by the time of his death is reflected in the fact that he was finally laid to rest in Westminster Abbey, where his memorial can still be seen to this day.

These are among the more obvious ways in which the past is used to define brand personality. As regulations increasingly restrict the claims that can be made for products, and as substantiation of such claims is increasingly required, history is looked on as a powerful element in a brand's marketing mix. In the case of some brands, competing in crowded markets against almost identical products, the past may be the only unique selling point that can be claimed.

36 Dewar's: The Whisky of His Forefathersi

Jacqui Seargeant John Dewar & Sons Ltd

When I started writing this article, it was with the intention of telling the tale of 'setting up a whisky archive'. However, as I wrote it slowly dawned on me that ten months on from starting this job, I still feel as if I am in the infancy of actually 'setting up' the archive. Other projects and events have over-taken all attempts at serious organisation and cataloguing, and I still don't even have any shelving! Perhaps that is an indication of how long it can take to set up an archive, and the need to balance the immediate Company needs with the establishment of an effective archive is perhaps the core challenge. The past ten months have flown by, with the necessary day-to-day management and control of the archive supplemented by the development of a new archive repository. This has been in conjunction with fulfilling the heritage needs of the Company, which have included the creation of a visitor centre, the development of a web page and the creation of a 'digital archive'.

I was employed by John Dewar & Sons initially in June 1999 on a one year contract with two key objectives - to catalogue the Company archive and work with the design team of the new visitor centre. These two objectives were complimentary - improved access to the archive was necessary, in order to effectively use the collection in the visitor centre. Therefore I was to be part of the marketing team, which meant my first priority would be to heritage marketing projects. Heritage marketing is a major priority for the whisky industry, which makes the placement of the archivist within the marketing team a logical choice. From the point of view of the archivist it is a unique opportunity to be involved in exciting projects that place the archive at the forefront of the company. While it may have the potential for creating a degree of insecurity, should heritage marketing 'go out of fashion', it can also be used as a springboard into other projects, including wider records management functions.

37 The archive of John Dewar and Sons Ltd belonged to United Distillers and Vintners as part of their vast archive at Leven in Fife, until 1998. In that year Dewar's was bought by Bacardi-Martini. Bacardi already owned one whisky brand, that of Wi lliam Lawson's, therefore the management of the newly acquired Dewar's brand was to be based in Glasgow, at the London Road offices of William Lawsons.

The Dewar archive is one of the most interesting and exciting that I have ever worked with. Despite an entry in the Directors' Minute Book of 1913, in which the decision to destroy all the old records of the Company is noted, many items have managed to survive and there is a great deal of variety. It contains a mixture of the usual business archives - for example minute books, ledgers, correspondence etc. In addition there is an amazing collection of advertising material, comprising largely of advertising guard books and original artwork. There are also the items you normally associate with a whisky archive - for example label guard books and blending books. There are the certificates, awards and original medals in gold, silver and bronze that the Company has amassed over the last 113 years, which in the past earned Dewar's the title 'Medal Scorch ofthe World'. There are the Royal warrants of all the British monarchs since Queen Victoria, and several foreign rulers, including those of Spain and Germany. In addition there is of course a large collection of what we might call 'museum' objects, which include glass decanters and ceramic whisky jugs, some of which are extremely beautiful, and a wide variety of point of sale material including ashtrays, match-holders and trays. Last of all, but by no means least, are whisky bottles, which pose their own unique challenges in heritage management! In its entirety this is a very rich and very inspiring collection.

There is no avoiding the fact that to a company of this kind the archive is largely a marketing asset for heritage promotion - a unique tool for demonstrating the long and distinguished history of the brand and the company. However to Dewar's it is not purely a method of marketing, it is also a method of educating both the public and people within the Company, about the history of the Company, and the

38 ,'

. ~. :'.:

Figure 1: Thomas Dewar, I" Baron Dewar (1864-1930)

39 true value of the brand. The Company is proud of its inherited heritage; it is an exciting story of entrepreneurial skill and risk taking. There is within the Company an enthusiasm for Tommy Dewar's innovative advertising and respect for John Alexander Dewar's impressive business sense. Tommy and John Alexander Dewar could be considered role models for the modem Company, and Tommy's sayings (or Dewarisms) are as appropriate today as they were in his own time, - 'Advenising is to business what imagination is to poetry'.

Although Bacardi-Martini have had established heritage collections for some time, at William Lawson's there was previously little emphasis on the heritage of the Company. It is undoubtedly difficult for a company, with little experience of heritage management, to suddenly acquire such a large and obviously valuable collection, and it has been to some extent a process of adjustment for everyone. While it is partly a delicate balance between the professional standards of the archivist and company requirements, it is also a matter of educating the company as to the needs of the archive to ensure its long-term well being. These are problems that all business archivists will recognise. The archive is the property of the company, and if the company are going to invest in the care of the archive collection, from a purely business perspective, it must earn its living. In addition the company will want to see an enduring legacy for their investment - a well kept, easily accessible archive. The Dewar collection is a valuable archive in terms of brand marketing strategies, but it is also valuable in its own right. It is Part of what makes the Company what it is, and I think this is recognised by many people here.

The absence of an archivist for a year before my arrival had two-fold implications. Firstly, so much first hand contact with the archive generated a great deal of enthusiasm for the collection. The marketing team in particular spent some time investigating the boxes, and they were able to experience that great feeling of discovery which is often the reserve of the archivist. On the other hand, it meant that they had the experience of the archive without rules, so for me to come along and introduce rules for the consultation of the archive called for a

40 delicate approach beginning with recommendations and explanations. As time has gone on it has become an established fact that an effective archive requires control, and in order to help me do my job effectively certain rules must be followed.

Before my arrival a temp who had no previous archival experience had catalogued the archive. She had created an Excel spreadsheet containing a list (largely to item level) of the collection. Everyone who used this list quickly realised how unwieldy it was, especially because there were few logical divisions to sections of the archive. For example, all hard backed items are listed under 'books' (including minute books, ledgers, blending books etc) and all loose paper items are listed under 'documents' (largely correspondence on various subjects and of various provenance), with no standard method of description and not enough detail or accuracy of description in places. One of the first things I did on arrival was to improve descriptions of items of most importance to the visitor centre project - which largely meant listing the advertising collection and photographic collection in greater detail. The entire collection could well be listed to a high standard in 6 months-if I was ever given six months with no interruptions!

It has also been necessary to establish an archive repository. The archive was in temporary storage when I arrived, so I came along at the ideal time and was able to influence the creation of the new storage area. Deciding what was necessary was the hardest task, based on the wide variety of media in the archive including documents, bound volumes, framed art work, photographs, bottles of whisky, ceramic jugs and various point of sale items. All of these items have their own individual needs in terms of method of storage and environmental control. However given that the collection in its present format is not that large - being only approximately 100 linear metres of shelving - having separate rooms for items with their own special environment was not practical. What I have aimed for is a storage room that takes the middle line - only the bottles will be separated due to the flammable nature of alcohol, and the general destructive nature of the

41 fumes. BS5454 has been my guiding light, but it has been important to strike a middle ground between what is ideal and what is realistic.

Essentially I was employed to manage the Company's heritage collection, and provide heritage support to the marketing team. The top priority of my work has to be my involvement in marketing projects. These have so far included development of the visitor centre, the web page, Bacardi digital archive and my role as 'Brand image controller for Europe and Asia Pacific' (which basically involves providing access to approved heritage images for all Bacardi brands in these markets), and the creation of a 'Heritage Room' within the Company offices.

Most of my time so far has been spent on one single project, the key reason for my initial employment - the development of a visitor centre. Dewar's World of Whisky is a £2 million visitor attraction, which was designed with the heritage of the Company at its very heart. The Company wanted someone to catalogue the archive in order to improve access to it, and work closely with the design team of the new visitor centre- which is situated in the spiritual home of the Dewar brand -the distillery at Aberfeldy. The centre will serve as a focus for the brand and the Company, and will help to reinforce its unique and enduring nature. As such it will serve as a tool to educate, not only the general public, but also Company officials, about the Dewar 'vision'.

The visitor centre is very much a journey of discovery through the lifetime of a Company that has a fascinating tale to tell. It is a celebration of personalities as much as it is of the Company's brand White Label. The centre celebrates the innovation of the advertising, which includes for example the flfSt cinematic advert made by a whisky company in 1898, and it is a celebration of the innovation of the family. It is also a meeting of old and new - original artefacts lie alongside touchscreen technology, which bring the archive to life.

42 ··5b·G.n'11t · 56 Gnlll" ·... a.ur .. an:ll . · . ·Priu /t\ell-!lf~ Priz.e M.W.a!%

Figure 2: Whisky label for John Dewar & Sons Ltd 1920s

43 There proved to be a lot of work to do for the visitor centre, including researching the Company history and locating suitable artefacts and documents to display as demonstrations of key pieces of the Company history, and in addition the development of a heritage retail collection. The most difficult aspect of this entire experience has been the ongoing feeling that I should have been employed six months earlier, at the time when the designing and planning of the centre took place. By the time I joined the marketing team at Dewar's in June, the designs for the visitor centre were more or less set in stone. The display cases had been designed, a lot of the cabinet work had been built, the budgets had been set, and perhaps more importantly - we were working to a tight time frame. From a heritage viewpoint there were cabinet, lighting, and environmental issues. It has been impossible to reverse a lot of the detail; therefore we have focused on simply developing strategies for dealing with exhibition environments that are simply not perfect. Which is probably a reasonably normal experience for many heritage professionals. In some cases it was possible to make very positive amendments, for example improving ventilation to cases, using fibre optic lighting, introducing charcoal cloth to absorb fumes and minimising the length of time individual items are on display.

With the visitor centre project, to some extent I have had to develop the head of a museum curator - which is not an unfamiliar role to me, having in the past worked at the Scottish Brewing Archive, which includes brewing memorabilia such as a delightful collection of Lager Lovelies cans! I had experience of working with brewing and distilling records, and had never shied away from the care of museum objects where they were a relevant part of a heritage collection. However it has still meant the need to develop contacts in the museum sector, with which I had previously had little need to consult. From my perspective this only demonstrates the closeness of the two professions, and how we must share knowledge and work together for the better management of collections.

What is more significant is my neglect of the archive profession generally. This is perhaps a danger for a busy archivist working in isolation from other archivists.

44 The year has been so hectic; I have not been to a single archive meeting, although I have followed the NRA discussion list and the Society newsletter. I am on the pre-registration training scheme but since I came to Dewar's have not even thought of my professional development, or even looked at my file to see what points I am Jacking. I feel that in the coming year I need to get back into the archive profession, for a start through Business Archives Council of Scotland meetings and local Society of Archivists meetings.

There is also the issue of public access to what is in essence an industry resource. I do have a public relations function and I regularly receive inquiries from the general public, dramatically more so since the web page was created. However, unlike the more academic or family history orientated inquiries I received in my last job at a University archive, most of the external inquiries at Dewar's are from people with items of old Dewar's memorabilia (mostly jugs and bottles), who require more information and valuations. These inquiries provide an opportunity for the Company to acquire more material for the archive, but I am careful about the time I spend on such inquiries. They are of a repetitive nature, which in the long term will enable me to deal with them largely by 'Frequently Asked Questions'. Of more importance to the Company, I regularly provide information and images for magazine articles. In this respect the archive is keeping the Company in the public eye, which is an important function.

It is undoubtedly an exciting time to be working for Dewar's, and very challenging. In June of last year I started on a one-year contract, and now almost one year on my contract has been made permanent, the visitor centre has opened and is proving to be a great success, and there are new exciting heritage projects on the horizon. There is the possibility of developing a comprehensive archive policy covering the Bacardi-Martini archives in the USA and Italy, in addition to historically exploring the William Lawson's brand. Dewar's is at present a relatively small Company, and one that is very supportive of my role, and the needs of the archive. There are reasonable resources, which allow for a good

45 degree of satisfaction in improving the lot of the archive, in terms of passive preservation products, and professional conservation treatment.

So I have come full circle. This was to be a story about the setting up of an archive, but in the pandemonium of the process it has become the story of a juggling act. Keeping the archive functioning, making minor improvements and at the same time (and in order to!) fulfilling the needs of Company. In the meantime I shall continue to dream of my mobile shelving, in Dewar's red.

i The Whisky of His Forefather's (later renamed the Whisky of his Ancestors) is Dewar's longest running advertising campaign. Tommy Dewar introduced the campaign, around about 1895. It featured a young laird drinking whisky in the hall of his ancestral home, with his forebears stepping out of their portraits in their apparent anxiety to join him. This was based on the Operetta Ruddigore, by Gilbert and Sullivan. It was used as an advert until about the 1930s or 40s, and then continued to be used from the 1950s - 70s on the bottle label of the Company's de luxe brand Ancestor.

46 A Pioneer of the Spirit: Charles Cree Doig

C.S.McBain

The Scotch whisky distilling industry is a story of a 1000 years of romantic history, technical ingenuity, serendipity and success. The technical pioneers who contributed to that success were many, some are now nameless, some are still remembered and some were outstanding in their contribution. To name but three: Aeneas Coffey, a retired Irish Excise Officer, of grain distilling fame, Joseph Alfred Nettleton, FCS, a Collector of Customs & Excise, who wrote highly technical books on brewing and distilling, and thirdly, Charles Cree Doig, an architect and distillery engineer. The later two mens' paths crossed first in Belfast in 1896 and then again in Elgin, Speyside in 1912.

Making whisky is quite simple and is practised the world over, but Scotch whisky can only be made in Scotland, by law. Take 61bs of barley and convert that to say 41bs of malted barley, mash, ferment and distil it in a two-gallon pot still and in time you will have two bottles of whisky. Now scale that up to a 20 gallon still, or 40 gallon, 100 gallons, 450 gallons, 1000 gallons to 6000 gallons or even 30,000 gallons, as was used in Ireland, and you travelled in time from illicit distilling through numerous Government Spirit Acts to the commercial business today.

As soon as a new Spirit Act came out, some enterprising engineer or coppersmith found a way around the Act in order to minimise the payment of duty (what has changed?). For example in 1788 a Leith coppersmith manufactured a still of legal capacity of 40 gals, but you could have one of 17 inches diameter or 4 foot diameter. And the difference? One could produce five times the amount of spirit that the other could in the same time. Again in 1816, a Mr Levin manufactured stills of legal capacity of 450 gallons, but with a diameter of 4 feet or 14 feet. One still could produce 36 times the amount of spirit in the same time as the other, thus effectively reducing the tax per still to a ridiculous but very

47 competitive level. The crux being that the tax was levied on the amount of whisky presumed to have been made from a still of 450 gallons, with no dimensions stipulated!

Eventually the more conventional spherical shaped stills appeared based on quality considerations, but which should it be two small ones or one large and one small? The sizes, shape, length of head, method of heating, method of cooling, all effect the flavours and hence the quality of the whiskies produced. Suddenly everything started to get quite technical. The scaling up from one ton of malted barley to say 16 tons per mash called for process design and this is where C.C. Doig came into his own.

Charles Cree Doig (1855-1918) was born in Linrathen, Angus to a farmer, James Doig and his wife Ammelia Stewart. 'CC' remained at school until he was 15 and then secured a seven-year apprenticeship with an architect, John Calver, in Meigle near Dundee. On 2 January 1881 , he married Margaret Isabella Dick. They had 3 sons:

William Howie Doig (1882-1947) also became an architect and civil engineer. He was a Major in the 6th Bn. of the Seaforth Highlanders during the First World War. Charles James Dick Doig (1888-1975) also became an architect and engineer. He married Christina Cameron and lived in Elgin. Alexander Lawson Doig (1890-1971) was a Chartered Accountant and practised in London, marrying Netta Gaer. He eventually returned to Elgin and lived a rather reclusive life.

As was the custom in those days, 'CC's apprenticeship was practical and this experience was to prove most useful in later life. He practised in Arbroath but moved to Elgin where he joined the surveying firm of Harboune, Marius, Strachan, Mackay. In 1890 he set up his own business. The boom in distillery expansion was about to begin, and 'CC' was well placed to exploit this. However, his work was not confined to maltings and distilleries. Over 1200 buildings, including farms, town houses, country houses, shops, banks, harbours, cemeteries.

48 village halls, drill halls, schools, churches, hotels and auction marts were all designed by him in Elgin and district.

In May 1889, 'CC' was asked to improve the efficiency of the existing chimneys of the malt kilns at Daluaine distillery, which like others, were of a beehive Iouvered construction and not very efficient at drawing off the peat smoke fumes. Most of his original drawings of the buildings and distilleries (all 5000 of them) are in Elgin Library and his Daluaine distillery drawings show his first design as a simple pyramid on a square chimney. Not content with that he drew two curves within the slopes; then he drew two curved lines out with the two straight slopes. So was born the pagoda roof design, of which some 58 proudly stand on the skyline as of 1999. 'CC' has re-discovered the ancient 'golden ratio' used by the Egyptians on their Great Pyramids of Gizeh of some 10,000 BCE and also on the Great Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan, Mexico and the pyramids of Indonesia of about the same time. These same measurements were to be used by the Greeks and by modem architects, as being 'pleasing to the eye'. But all remaining pagoda roofs are not golden pagodas, only a few, the remainder were not designed by 'CC' and were poor imitations. They missed the beauty of his insight of the golden section, as Leonardo da Vinci described it, being the altitude of the face of the pyramid to half the base. The pagoda shape is decorative rather than efficient, the efficiency was achieved by lifting the flat roof on the chimney on to four corner posts thereby allowing the winds to blow from any direction, as used in smoking kilns to this day. Incidentally, the logo of the Malt Whisky Trail for Moray District roads is a true 'Golden Pagoda', but then the District Works Department had architects or was it just a case of it being 'pleasing to the eye'?

Unfortunately, the original pagodas at Daluaine distillery were burned down in a fire in 1917. However, there are two excellent examples on the twin roof of the malt kiln a Strathisla Distillery, Keith, Banffshire, known locally as being the second Doig ventilators built in Speyside. However, the 1200 town and country buildings and pagoda roofs were not 'CC's greatest achievements, they were still to come.

49 'CC's first distillery construction projects in Speyside started in 1882, with Glenburgle, Miltonduff, Macallan and Daluaine distilleries, and so he became the first professional distillery engineer in Speyside, if not in Scotland.

He designed purpose built buildings: a mash-house for the mash tun, a still house for the stills, etc. He even assisted in the designs and sizing of the plants on an integrated basis and gave technical advice on the process control of the distilleries, no doubt assisted by technical information from J.A. Nettleton. Not only a Collector of Customs & Excise, but a qualified chemist, J. A. Nettleton was also a Fellow of the Chemical Society, a founder member of the Laboratory Club (London), and an author of at least thirteen technical books on distilleries, whisky flavour, materials and plant and process control. His last book was a veritable whisky Bible, along with numerous technical articles on whisky and beer, between 1897 and 1913. 'CC' and I. A. Nettleton had first met at Avionel Distillery, Belfast in 1896 and when Nettleton was posted to Elgin in 1912 the two great minds had met again and presumably shared the 'know-how' of Scotch whisky. So that now they could combine the technology of whisky manufacture and the process engineering design of the necessary plant.

'CC' designed twenty-six distilleries from scratch, seven in 1896, nine in 1897 and four in 1898. Besides that he was working at distilleries ranging from the Orkney Islands to Islay and from Montrose to Ireland, as well as attending to existing distilleries in Speyside, such as The Glenlivet, Cardow and Craggamnore. But 'CC' was also involved in breweries and maltings throughout the United Kingdom. It is on record that his company had been involved with 69 distilleries, but probably assisted at 100 or more, as not all of his drawings survived. He was the acknowledged expert, and the more distilleries and maltings that he attended, the more he learned and the more he could help to improve or refine the production and quality of the whiskies produced, particularly in Speyside.

50 It is my proposition that the right water supplies, atmospheric conditions, barley, malting conditions, technical expertise in the form of the chemistry of the process and the engineering of the necessary plant as delivered by Messrs Doig and Nettleton, combined with the foresight of the Pot Still Malt Distillers Association of 1874, all contributed to the success of Speyside malt whiskies. For as Nettleton himself once said, 'Speyside, the very cradle of whiskey making' and rightly so! After all, where would those blended whiskies be without Speyside malts? The proof is that there are still 59 distilleries left in Speyside out of a total of the remaining 88 in Scotland from an original of 300 plus at one time.

Due acknowledgement is given to Willie Brander, Architect and Distillery Engineer, of Elgin, whose firm bought over the family firm of Doig's and for his foresight and professionalism in saving C.C. Doig's thousands of drawings from being consigned to the local waste tip. Acknowledgement is also due to Graham Wilson, that most diligent of archivists, at the Reference Library, Elgin, who carried out the monumental task of cataloguing Doig's 5000 plus drawings and helped check the birth, marriage and death records of the Doig's.

51 Reviews

Good Compa11y: The Story of Scottish & Newcastle (James & James, 1999, 167pp) Berry Ritchie

Scottish & Newcastle plc is one of Britain's leading companies and, through its brewing ann Scottish Courage, it is the country's largest brewer. The stories of the many brewing companies which have come together within S&N over two centuries are important not only in the history of British brewing but also in the development of the regional economies of Lowland Scotland and the North East of England.

This is not an impartial history, but was commissioned and published by Scottish & Newcastle to mark the company's notional 250th anniversary. It was in 1749, so the story goes, that William Younger arrived in Leith from West Linton and began working at Robert Anderson's brewery in the port. As it turns out, the author Berry Ritchie seems to have been unable to find evidence to validate the anniversary. The first pages of the book are taken up with a slightly awkward shuffle round the surviving facts relating to the life of this first 'Father William', none of which offer any encouragement for the view that Younger, an Exciseman, actually made any beer. Indeed, Ritchie does not establish a finn connection between Younger and a brewery until 1766, when the latter acquired 'parts and portions' of one in Edinburgh's Kirkgate. But then it seems that Younger did not brew any beer there either. A brewery historian's nightmare - a 'founder' who didn't organise a brew-up in a brewery!

According to Ritchie, Williarn's son Archibald did set up a brewery in the grounds of the Abbey at Holyrood House in 1777. There, according to a contemporary, he made a 'potent fluid which almost glued the lips of the drinker together'. Meanwhile, his brothers Richard and Williarn II also entered the brewing business. After Richard's death in 1806, followed by Archibald in 1817,

52 William was the only Younger left in the business, and was recognised as one of the leading brewers in Edinburgh.

William Younger & Co prospered, and Ritchie skilfully follows the story of the firm while keeping the reader abreast with developments at the breweries of Edinburgh rivals William McEwan and of John Barras and the companies in the North East of England which were to form Newcastle Breweries in 1890. In doing this he makes full and entertaining use of surviving family and business correspondence, which sheds light not only on business matters. but also on internal company politics, and the problems associated with quality control. The characters of the leading players in the story are vividly drawn. None more so than the arrogant, Henry Younger, who seems to have led his family firm to the brink of failure during the 1870s and who suffered a memorable rebuke from his father which is reproduced in full - a cruelly detailed catalogue of mistakes and misjudgements which makes fascinating reading.

The alliance ofMcEwans and William Youngers in 1930 created a powerful force in British brewing, although Ritchie provides fascinating insights regarding the internal tensions within the new Scottish Brewers alliance. He also provides a textbook account of the manoeuvring which led to the merger of Scottish Brewers and Newcastle Breweries in 1960. His story of the rise and rise of S&N. hoovering up small and medium-sized British breweries, surviving the hostile attentions of Elders IXL in 1988 (when S&N shamelessly and very effectively played the 'Scottish card') and expanding steadily through the 1990s, is well-told. The diversification into hotels, wineries, holiday centres and other enterprises is chronicled clearly and without fuss, as are the reasons for and consequences of the acquisition of Courage in 1995. Although it is clearly not an impartial telling of the tale, this is a useful and very readable company history.

There are some signs that Berry Ritchie is not well acquainted with the story of brewing in Scotland. For example, the statement that porter was 'too bitler for Scottish palates' during the early 1800s is clearly contradicted by evidence of the

53 huge popularity of porter shipped to the east coast of Scotland from England, and brewed by Tennents and others in Glasgow. It is inconceivable that a bottle of Scotch Ale sold for 8 shilling and 5 pence in London in the 1830s. And Kestrel Lager has been called many things by many people, but surely none would consider that it was ever considered to be a 'premium product', either by price or quality. But these are minor quibbles, and he generally fits his tale effortlessly within the context of contemporary events in the brewing industry and in the wider world.

There is one blemish in the appearance of this volume, which could easily have been avoided. Good Company must be one of the best-looking company history books of the year. Beautifully designed and illustrated, and using the superb collection of beer advertisements and brewery photographs held at the Scottish Brewing Archive to telling effect, it is a joy to behold. Sadly, someone (in the company's marketing department, perhaps?) has apparently decided that the reader should be reminded throughout that S&N is a 'modem' company: the random and inappropriate insertion of glossy 1990s photographs of some 'Scottish and Newcastle Pubs Today' spoils the overall visual effect of the book. lain Russell

54 About the Business Archives Council of Scotland

The Business Archives Council of Scotland (BACS) was established in 1960 as an independent archive body concerned with the active preservation of Scottish Business Records. It is a registered charity funded by donations from Scottish businesses and a grant-in-aid from the National Archives of Scotland.

The Council deals specifically with the preservation of Scottish business records, broadly defined to include professional bodies and associations, and the promotion of their study. Scotland has a rich industrial past and, over the past two centuries has produced some of the finest engineers, shipbuilders and inventors the world has seen. The records of businesses provide an irreplaceable source of information on all aspects of working lives from management strategy to pay and conditions. The systematic study of a firm's archive material contributes to, and widens our knowledge of both corporate structure and the development of Scottish trade and industry.

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Membership of the BACS

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